


Dance on Glass

by Lucretias_Reflection



Category: The World's End (2013)
Genre: Alcohol, Complete, Drug Use, Explicit Language, Other, Self Harm, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-31
Updated: 2014-07-31
Packaged: 2018-02-11 03:53:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2052537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lucretias_Reflection/pseuds/Lucretias_Reflection
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Taking place the night of the accident, Andy is trying to save Gary's life, but as the night turns to threaten both of them Gary wonders if he is really worth saving at all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dance on Glass

Gary’s hands painfully gripped the edges of the bathroom sink, hunched over it trying to steady his breathing.

The slow buzzing of the fluorescent lights was the only other sound that reached him besides Gary’s own unbalanced heartbeat and shallow breaths.  
He was having a bad trip, he must have been. He knew he was gambling when he snorted the extra coke, but he had missed the last dose and he could already feel the sickness coming; he was desperate, really he was, but that was supposed to be okay once he finished up in here -only he wasn’t sure how long that would take or if that was even his main concern anymore.

He could hear his breathing; the jittering breaths sounded distant, as if he was listening to someone else and not himself. He seemed light and heavy at the same time. Holding himself up on shaking arms, he lifted his weak head to look in the mirror. His reflection was ghastly; it was a pale face, so sickly colored that the pale was accented by light shades of green. With a dark conclusion, Gary thought the boy in the mirror looked dead. He wondered if he would be dead in a few minutes too. He could feel his consciousness begin to disintegrate and wasn’t entirely aware of what was happening, although he knew he should be. 

“Shit,” Gary breathed. How was he supposed to get help? Everyone inside was completely unaware, all smiling and laughing with the gentle beat of the music just outside this door, and Gary, being the experienced ghost, doubted anyone noticed him slip in. He knew he needed to get Andy. Andy had driven him to this party, after Gary practically begged him to come.

“No, Gary, not tonight. I don’t think it’s a good idea. Next weekend, yeah?” he had said. But Gary had to be a manipulative bastard and tried several times to convince him. Finally, Andy had nervously agreed, and Gary was excited to go. He may have made it seem like this whole party was just another fun night out, but what he really wanted was to be with Andy. Since High School ended they had been growing apart. Andy had been occupied with careers and trying to get his life on track, and Gary visciousy refused to even let the idea enter his mind. He wanted to live while they were young; he wanted to have something to remember.

Gary’s fading consciousness was now alight with a new emotion: fear. Andy had no idea what was happening. Knowing him, he was probably already looking for him, but the lights were glowing dimmer and dimmer and Gary knew it wasn’t because the lights needed to be changed. He had to tell Andy what was happening to him. Andy would help him. He always did. 

‘Andy, Andy, Andy’ Gary thought, physically unable to think of anything else -he repeated the name desperately, over and over in his head. It was the only thing he was able to think. Gary shifted his weight towards the door but lost balance and swayed once his shaking wrists left the sink. The beat of the muffled music, his breathing, and the dark green of the tiled bathroom walls, all seemed to mix together, and Gary didn’t even feel it when he hit the floor.

…

The red liquid in the red plastic cup Andy was currently holding reflected all kinds of lights from the room, swaying with the dancing people enjoying the music. The beat was loud, so loud Andy could feel it in his ribs. He shifted uncomfortably as he surveyed the crowd, looking for glimpses of a black trench coat or dark matted hair. He was still waiting for Gary to return. He knew by now that Gary’s doses were more of a necessity than a pleasure like they had been when they were seventeen, but he never took longer than five minutes, tops. It had been almost fifteen, and Andy saw no trace of the perky bastard. He considered for a moment that Gary had run off with a girl. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time, and probably not the last either. But none of the girls Andy knew Gary had an interest in were here, at least that he knew of.

If Gary even needed to have an interest in them, anyway.

Andy stood there, considering what to do. After a moment of thought, he gave an irritated sigh and put down his drink. He was Gary’s best friend. Being the loyal idiot he was, he decided he may as well try and look for him. And then he could finally go home.

Andy carefully made his way across the room, following the path he watched Gary take to the toilet. The music was significantly quieter here, making it easier to listen and giving his eardrums a much needed rest. He walked up to the bathroom door and knocked a few times with the back of his hand. 

“Gary, you in there mate? We should get going, I’m tired and I’ve got papers  
to do, you know…”

Andy waited for a reply, but got none. If Gary had heard him he would’ve given one of his famous dismissive gestures, he was never without an excuse.  
Andy moved to open the door. Locked. He creased his brow and looked to his right where a boy stood smoking.

“Hey, you seen a bloke go in here, tall and wearing a black coat?” 

The boy nodded, “The Goth? Yeah, been in there a while. I’ve been waiting here since he slipped in.”

The boy brushed strands of his blonde hair out of his face and smirked.

“Seems like he’s taking a royal piss.”

Andy returned his gaze to the door. Now he was afraid. Gary was definitely in there, but he wasn’t responding to him, and Andy knew he had gone in there for only one reason. Suddenly his mouth was very dry. 

“Gary?” he called. “Gary, I’m coming in, mate. Stand away from the door, if you can hear me.”  
Andy backed up before he leapt at the door, breaking it open with almost no effort. The rugby team left him with more bruises than one should get in their lifetime, but at least it was useful for something.

The door hit the wall and Andy stepped inside. He gasped. He could feel all the color drain out of his face as he saw what lay before him. “Oh, no…” he whispered.

Gary lay sprawled on the floor, pale and motionless. Andy ran to him and felt for a pulse. He released a breath he didn’t know he was holding when he felt the faint beating in Gary’s neck. Andy quickly moved on and opened one of Gary’s eyes. He was no medical expert, but he knew what meant overdose. Sure enough, Gary’s eye almost seemed completely blue, the pupil being no more than a pin point on a map of stormy sea. “Okay, Gary, Mate, It’s gonna be okay, you’re gonna be fine, let’s get you out of here, come on…” Andy sounded incredibly scared in his own ears, but kept moving.

He carefully picked Gary up and slung him over his shoulder before practically bouldering his way out of the building.

“Get the fuck out of the way! Move!” He yelled over the volume of the blaring music as he pushed towards the door.

Andy fumbled with his keys as he opened his car, and gently moved Gary into the front passenger seat and buckled him in. 

“You’re going to be okay, mate. You’re going to be okay…”

Andy wasted no time in getting in himself and starting the engine. Time seemed to slow down as Andy sped towards the Hospital. Andy was entirely focused on the road  
despite the lights going fuzzy and his vision a bit hazy, but gave in to looking over at the unconscious Gary and talking to him, mostly for his own comfort.

“Come on…come on…” Andy muttered, his eyes glued to the road. It was dark and he was having problems seeing, but there was no other option right now. All that mattered was getting to the Hospital and making sure that Gary was all right. As Andy looked over at Gary now he noticed that he was sweating and trembling. That couldn’t be good. “Come on, Gary, stay with me.” Andy looked towards the road. They were coming on to a turn, it looked like a left, it must be a left. The effects of the alcohol he was drinking before hadn’t entirely worn off, shit. As if Gary’s death wasn’t enough to sober him up. “Come on…come on…Gary, stay with me, stay with me…”  
Andy turned back to look at the road and saw that the lamppost was much closer than it was a moment ago. Andy quickly tried to make the left but didn’t quite get the entire car in the right direction. “Shit!” Andy yelled. The left front wheel screamed and spun off when the car collided into the lamppost, flipping the car twice before settling off the road, the steam from the mangled car the only sound in the still night.

 

…

Gary woke up gasping, desperate for air as if invisible hands were strangling him. Drawing in ragged breaths, he slowly looked around, dazed. He couldn’t remember what he  
was just doing or where he was, although he had a feeling he’d been in trouble, with the familiar after taste of fear still in his veins. There was a stinging in his leg and a throbbing in his head as he shifted around in his  
confined space. He put one hand above him and felt the soft padding of the car’s roof.

“What the fuck…?” Gary wondered aloud.

Why was the car upside down? When did he even get in a car? “Ugh,” Gary whimpered and placed a hand on his forehead. When he brought it down it came back bloody and hot. He  
moved his hand to the seat but quickly brought it back when his hand was sliced. Gary looked to his right side and saw the glass from the car window was broken and  
pieces were everywhere. He stared at that a moment longer before he suddenly came to a realization.

He had been in a car accident, sitting in the passenger seat, and the only person he would ever get a ride from in any circumstance- 

Gary whipped his head to his left, ignoring the  
sharp pain in his neck as he did so. As his vision focused his eyes widened and his pulse quickened as he sat there frozen, staring at the bloody image of his best friend lying beside  
him. Gary couldn’t blink or breath as he squirmed out of his seat, hastily crawling towards him. “Oh, God.” He snaked one hand around the back of Andy’s head and cradled his  
neck, while his other hand desperately searched for a pulse. “God, no. Please, God. Please. Not him. Please, not Andy.”

Gary’s eyes started to water and he let the tears fall, sobbing quietly in between panicked gasps and pleads, “Please, Andy, come on. Andy. Come on. Please Andy,  
please, please Andy…”

 

He finally shut his eyes tightly as his cut hands clenched Andy’s blood-soaked shirt. Gary dropped his head into Andy’s shoulder and wept. He stayed that way, holding Andy, for what  
seemed like hours before he left the car. He felt numb, aside from the pain that seemed to wave over him, but Gary wasn’t thinking about that.

Gary walked away from the steaming wreck, smoke visible in the chill December air, stiffly pushing himself farther down the thin snow blanketed road.

He felt nothing, his eyes still wet and tear-streaked but no longer crying. He walked as if in a dream, feeling nothing and everything at the same time. The gentle breeze of the wind blowing past his ears and the chill stinging his heated wounds was the only indication Gary had that he was still alive. He didn’t know what he was going to do, he just pressed on into the darkness, eyes forward but not really seeing anything.

Gary followed the road away from the crash, his body moving on it’s own, tracing the ghost of the familiar path he had used to walk to and from school. He knew he wasn’t thinking straight, he was still buzzed faintly from the drugs he had taken earlier and the crash certainly didn’t improve his state, but Gary didn’t care. His own thoughts seemed to have disappeared, for he didn’t hear anything apart from his own shaking breathing and the hiss of the smoke from the car behind him. His mind was blank but at the same time everything sounded so terribly loud.

He had to get out of here. He needed to get out. No one was going to help him this time. He needed to get as far away from this place as possible, he didn’t care what happened  
after; he just needed to get out. Gary creased his brow and picked up his pace, distantly placing one foot in front of the other in uneven strides as he got farther and farther away.  
He restrained a sob as he finally started running, only to have it come out strangled. He ran on into a forest, twigs and branches slicing open his skin as he flew past. His mind was beginning to catch up, but Gary kept moving, never stopping for anything despite the lightning strikes of pain he felt with each step.

He continued running until he finally came to his destination; a little run down place he had lived nearly his entire life. He stopped just as the forest ended on the house lawn, his breath clouding around him in a gray puff as he stood there panting. Gary observed the scene and twitched his frozen fingers. The moon rose just to the left of the house, giving it a soft lilac glow. If Gary hadn’t lived here for half his childhood, he would’ve got the impression that this was a peaceful home housing an equally kind family. Gary stood there a moment longer lost in thought before apprehensively stepping inside.

Everything was exactly the same since he had left for University, as he expected. Mum wouldn’t be living here, he remembered suddenly. He recalled a distant conversation where she explained she was moving once he left for University, but she had left everything here. Probably for him to live at when he came back, he couldn’t remember. He’d only been half listening. He did remember, however, that he had never wanted to come here again. He never thought he would come here again. The irony was bitter on his tongue as he realized how fitting the whole situation was.

This house was always a last resort. Even when he was in High School, he always had the option to crash at someone else’s house, even when said occupants weren’t always exactly what you would call ‘pleased’ to find him on their couch the following morning. This house was filled with nothing but reminders and memories of broken promises and childhood hope for a chance that never came until he could grab the next best thing. His mother was a good person, she was good to him and despite the trouble he seemed to constantly get in, the only time Gary would ever really feel remorseful at all was when he upset her. He loved her deeply and knew she did her best, but Gary could never quite shake that sick feeling in his stomach that no matter how hard his mother would try, there would never be any way to fix what his father had taken from them when he left. That even though he had ruined everything so long ago, his presence would never really leave them. He would always be there, like an ugly stain on a wall that no matter how many coats of paint you put on it to try and cover it up, will always reappear to remind you of its existence. Kind of like the dents in the wall that Gary knew were obscured by strategically placed picture frames, and the black eyes and split lips he’d had when he had “run into a door” on his fathers regular bad days.

 

The house seemed to be full of ghosts of the past, but he banished any further thought of them as Gary made his way up the stairs. Once he was at the top he went down the hall, turning on his left into his old bedroom. He glided into the room over to the nightstand. He wasted no time in pulling out the drawers and shuffling around for  
the pack of pills he hid long ago. Once he had them, he tossed them onto his bed and continued to search all of his old hiding places thoroughly; He checked under the porcelain jar his grandfather had given him, behind his old poster of Sisters of Mercy, ripped open the stuffed toys with the half-assed stitches his sixteen-year-old self had hastily done years before to hide his stash. When he had finished he had a handful of drugs in his hand, all of which would hopefully be enough to finish the job. He considered dry-swallowing them all right then, but just to be safe he decided to use some water. He was thirsty anyway, if he was going to do this, he figured he may as well be comfortable.

Gary walked into his bathroom and flipped the switch on. He had to shut his his eyes as they adjusted to the sudden light, but once they came into focus Gary was startled for the second time that night by his own reflection.

His shirt was soaked in blood -whose blood it was, he couldn’t tell, but he felt his stomach churn as a vile feeling told him it wasn’t his. A thick line of crimson coated the left side of his face, trailing down from his forehead, his dark hair matted and stiff where the blood reached his hairline. It was a harsh contrast against his drained face which was a light shade of green that reminded Gary of that god-awful Zombie movie he had seen shortly after High School. His pupils were alarmingly small, his eyes dark and sunken and his cheekbones prominent and sharp beneath his thin face. He noticed with a start that he was trembling as well, the cause being either the fact he was fucking freezing or the drugs or just the sheer trauma of the entire night.

As Gary stood there forgetting how to breathe, the events of the night suddenly came back to him.

He remembered hearing about this house party, and getting all excited thinking this was it, this was the chance he had been looking for, this was another perfect night to fix everything. He remembered how he had practically forced Andy to take him to the party. How Andy agreed because he knew that Gary wanted to go, and finally how Gary had ruined everything all over again by being a bastard and thinking he could handle a little extra fix.

Suddenly, Gary realized that Andy had been looking for him, when he could have just gone home. Gary wasn’t Andy’s problem. He knew he was doing this to himself, and whatever happened to him would be his fault. He was asking for this to happen, it could’ve -should’ve happened a long, long time ago and it finally caught up with him tonight. But Andy stayed, because that’s what Andy always does, Andy puts up with all of the stupid shit Gary puts him through and doesn’t force him to own up to anything because Gary always has his back in the end.

But not this time. Gary knew what he was gambling and lost everything. He’d let this happen, first he’d let Andy down and now he was his undoing, all because Andy cared about him.  
Gary had thrown a lot away in his life, but Andy was always there to help him even when Gary didn’t want to help himself. And because of that, he lost the only thing he had to lose.

Gary’s throat tightened as he tried to say the words he owed Andy so many times, ’I’m sorry, Andy, I’m sorry, I’m sorry’ -but he couldn’t. It was a simple sentence and he couldn’t even do that. Another thing to add to the list of everything Gary King couldn’t do. Not that it mattered anymore.

Gary stared at the mirror, unable to look away, bubbling over with hatred and looking for something, anything to blame this on, only to meet his own accusing stare. With a furious scream Gary hit the mirror, his knuckles stinging as the mirror rippled around where his fist connected, distorting his reflection as shards scattered around him on the bathroom floor. He gripped the edges of the sink and leaned forward. He rested his head against the broken mirror and squeezed his eyes shut. It was suddenly very hard to breath, sucking in air through clenched teeth in short, uneven breaths. Gary slowly opened his eyes and moved his head to look out the door, into his room. His eyes locked on the pills sitting on the bed, and without breaking his stare, flipped the light switch off leaving the water in the tap.

The tear tracks burned his cheeks as new tears traced them, although he hadn’t noticed he’d started crying. He sat on his bed and gathered all of the pills in one hand. He stared at them, some of them had been bloodied at some point, resembling tiny red specks on circular blankets of snow. He shuffled them around in his hand, as if he was making a decision, even though he had already decided. He clenched his jaw and breathed through his nose.

“Fuck it.” Gary seethed, putting all the pills he had in his mouth and swallowed.

He gasped once and held his face with one hand. He was still under the influence of the drugs he had taken earlier, so hopefully this would go fast.  
Or not. Gary didn’t really care at this point. He sat in silence, waiting for the drugs to take effect.

His gaze wandered, looking for something to focus on, when he noticed a strange light on the bathroom floor across from him.  
He studied the object; It looked to be the shape of an average kitchen knife, reflecting the light from his bedroom. It lay in two crimson pools.

In some weird, twisted way, the sight was almost comforting, like it meant something.  
He decided it must’ve been a mirror shard, but the gentle gleam of the object soon grew dimmer along with the world around him. The buzzing in his ears got louder as he slid off the bed and his eyes rolled, the image of a knife and two puddles of blood burned into his vision before the world went black.


End file.
